Attention whores...love em or hate em...?

[Not Plain Jane]

In general pop stars are very bad musicians with very poor skills so they need to do something with their looks to make people buy their music. The music means almost nothing.

Simulacra! The "pop" world is full of it.

There is plenty of emptiness circulating around, shadowing likenesses. So many of us are in Plato's cave watching the shadows, and we don't even know it. Only crawling out and being blinded by the sun - something real - will help. But would we even recognise it?

 

[Melisande]

Gaga is the attention wh*re par excellence. Not only that, but she is freaking pretentious. "I am Brechtian...I am Warholian...I am, my art is..." she clings desperately at other people's talents to give meaning to herself (besides, how embarrassingly ignorant and oooold to quote Warhol whose very "artistry" itself was questionable). We all know that true artists allow their work to speak for themselves and are more often than not very reticent about promoting it or speaking about it (often their difficulty to communicate outside their art gives them the impetus to create in the first place), and an immediate big red flag goes up when I see artists and musicians talking too much about the meaning of their work.

Who would she be, what would her songs be without her clothes and videos? Sure, she has a good voice, but so do millions of others. Her so-called "sociopolitical statements" are merely excuses added later to justify her wh*ring, not the motivation for her work...if that was her real motivation, why not explore these issues in her songs???? Let's just be real already!

I enjoy her music and it's fun and catchy, and her videos and outfits provide cheap and sugary distraction, but without the pretentious personality drama please. The thing about Madonna on the other hand, is that one gets the sense she is genuine...genuine in her egocentricism, megalomania, and rather touchingly, her sometimes misguided but nonetheless earnest search for meaning in life and her work. Anyway I'll get off my huge ranting high horse now.

 

[Lalique]

And there are too many attention whores with no talent for acting, singing, modeling, or what have you.
They dress desperately badly, hoping against hope they'll end up in some magazine for their outrageousness- and they usually do-- it the back of a National Enquirer in the "don't do this" line up!

 

[Fewormany]

i think it's all backfiring now...
it seems that people have gotten pretty accustomed to this over-the-top, attention-seeking way of dressing...
and they aren't that interested anymore...

It's inevitable this would happen, you can't keep 'shocking' people.

I think slowly more and more people are getting tired of people crying out loud for attention, be it in singing, dressing or any other way. Not just with celebrities but also with people around us tweeting or facebooking about every meaningless thing they do.
So many people seem to busy projecting an image to the world of who they are and what they do that they're becoming caricatures of themselves.

The louder you scream, the fewer people will listen..

 

[iluvjeisa]

Gaga is the attention wh*re par excellence. Not only that, but she is freaking pretentious. "I am Brechtian...I am Warholian...I am, my art is..." she clings desperately at other people's talents to give meaning to herself (besides, how embarrassingly ignorant and oooold to quote Warhol whose very "artistry" itself was questionable). We all know that true artists allow their work to speak for themselves and are more often than not very reticent about promoting it or speaking about it (often their difficulty to communicate outside their art gives them the impetus to create in the first place), and an immediate big red flag goes up when I see artists and musicians talking too much about the meaning of their work.

True artists come in different forms. It might not appeal to you with someone who is boisterous, but it might work for others.

Actually, her education is one of the few things I like about her. The fact that she can string sentences together and drop a few references is a step up from the air heads.

 

[Not Plain Jane]

....I don't have a problem if someone wears a loud outfit but I do have a problem when they try to get as much publicity from it as they can and that I think lies in the differences of the Anna Piaggi's and the Anna Dello Russo's of the world. Piaggi isn't looking for publicity for her looks whereas Dello Russo most certainly is.

Agree on ADR. While I admire some of her outfits and chutzpah, it seems to be all about the photos and attention for her (i mean an album?! A doll of herself?!!). She seems incredibly narcissistic. It helps that she has millions of dollars, x-number of closets and thousands of shoes, I suppose. But how superficial to be preening for attention all the time just based on "street" appearances.

I like looking at editors' street styles, but I get the sense that while they all love fashion, while most of them like to style & play with clothes, it seems like only some of them are talented and work really hard.

 

[Melisande]

True artists come in different forms. It might not appeal to you with someone who is boisterous, but it might work for others.
.

You're right, boisterous is fine, and even self-promoting and egoic is fine of course.

Still, I think that art and music should speak for themselves and be able to stand on their own, and artists who put any amount of care in doing that rarely take pleasure in needing to talk about it...because it only implies that the work is not doing its job. Or that it's more about you than the work.

Anyway, in the end it's a matter of taste and opinion... Lady Gaga is a topic of endless annoying and undeservedly heated debate among my artist friends.

 

[iluvjeisa]

You're right, boisterous is fine, and even self-promoting and egoic is fine of course.

Still, I think that art and music should speak for themselves and be able to stand on their own, and artists who put any amount of care in doing that rarely take pleasure in needing to talk about it...because it only implies that the work is not doing its job. Or that it's more about you than the work.

Anyway, in the end it's a matter of taste and opinion... Lady Gaga is a topic of endless annoying and undeservedly heated debate among my artist friends.

I love attention whores who have something to show for it and detest the ones who are only driven by the desire to be seen and have nothing worth seeing.

Saying they shouldn't talk about their "art" is to restrict the type of person who can be an artist. Some are more temperamental and I wouldn't like to rule those out as sub par just because they're not able to conform to the artist's code of honor or something...

 

[MyNameIs]

Lady "the meaningful artist" Gaga arguments always crack me up. Her picture should be in the dictionary next to "Attention wh*re", case closed.

 

[Kayote]

Tctra, that is a bit harsh put together but I agree. There is nothing I admire about any of these girls yet they continue to get coverage after coverage. I just dont find any of them (espeically Kim) attractive or interesting.

However, I disagree with most of the comments here about Lady Gaga. Even if she is pretentious, the length she is willing to go to stay true to her image deserves something... whether its praise or ire is upto each of us & for her to bear.

 

[Melisande]

I love attention whores who have something to show for it and detest the ones who are only driven by the desire to be seen and have nothing worth seeing.

That is a good point. The problem is that pop culture today is so rampant with cheap attention whores, in comparison to whom Gaga, who is at least fun and talented, seems a veritable Beethoven.
(Which is, in my opinion, rather sad...)

Saying they shouldn't talk about their "art" is to restrict the type of person who can be an artist.

I certainly hope so!

Just to clarify, I never said they shouldn't though.

 

[Bgeltunsd]

Like others have said, what I feel for them is more pity than hate...usually. Now there's a woman I work with who dresses like a sl*tty 16-year-old even though she's 37 and always talks very loudly and has nothing intelligent or remotely interesting to say. There, I get annoyed, because I have to deal with her 5 days a week. Attention whores on the streets or in the media, meh, whatever...

I have never met an attention wh*re that was actually talented or had anything interesting to say. On the other hand, I have met a bunch of great artists over the years and there were a few "eccentrics", but mostly people that like to keep a low profile.

As for me: I don't dress for the attention, I dress according to how I feel and how the clothes or shoes will make me feel.

 

[Squizree]

I think those who don't work for attention are those who deserve it.

 

[iluvjeisa]

I think those who don't work for attention are those who deserve it.

But if that was the norm then the way to get attention was to seem like you don't want attention.

No. The people who should get attention are those who have something to show or say that is out of the ordinary or has an irresistible allure. Unfortunately, a lot of people either overestimate or underestimate themselves. The former is the case for most attention whores....

How many haven't encountered people like the one Katharrrina describes....you just want to throttle them, really. But it's not their fault. They're idiots and they mistakenly think if they can get close to looking like the girl on the Glamour cover they're somehow interesting.

 

[tctra]

Tctra, that is a bit harsh put together but I agree. There is nothing I admire about any of these girls yet they continue to get coverage after coverage. I just dont find any of them (espeically Kim) attractive or interesting.

i honestly don't know why my post was deleted. this thread talks about fame whores and that lot are the very definition of it. For me, they suffer a trait worse than pretension (even though they are) and that is false modesty. I don't even know how or why they are famous. None of them have any talent whatsoever except one. - the talent for attention wh*ring, which they have mastered. They are a sad representative of young women today and an even worse role model for younger girls. Shallowness and vapidity coupled with pretense for 'caring' about issues are traits i absolutely despise and so so unattractive

 

[Kayote]

i honestly don't know why my post was deleted. this thread talks about fame whores and that lot are the very definition of it. For me, they suffer a trait worse than pretension (even though they are) and that is false modesty. I don't even know how or why they are famous. None of them have any talent whatsoever except one. - the talent for attention wh*ring, which they have mastered. They are a sad representative of young women today and an even worse role model for younger girls. Shallowness and vapidity coupled with pretense for 'caring' about issues are traits i absolutely despise and so so unattractive

I want to add a bit to this:

Consider McQ, when he came, he created designs that were nothing if not over-the-top, wild and attention grabbing, not to be forget totally impractical. However, we all loved them, because there were so refreshing. And I am willing to argue that was the whole purpose for McQ, to create something that would be attention grabbing.

Attention garbbing has its place but yes, as you say, there are certain individuals in our society, who are self-obsessed and 'attention whores' (such a crude work eh!). And the media (& society?) loves them.

 

[SabrinaNicole]

Well I think a lot will agree that the Kardashians love to hog the spotlight. How can we ever get away from them? Will we? The media is constantly filling us in on their fluffy little lives. I'm not saying their brand has no value, it does. But come on........

The latest: Are Kylie and Kendall too young to walk the runway??
http://www.hollywoodlife.com/2011/0...5-sherri-hill-spring-2012-fashion-show-rules/

http://celebs.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474980290601

 

[Fashionturnip]

^^it is very troubling really. On a superficial level people can laugh it off..but its just a bit of a slippery slope in general social morals.

I was thinking when a music video came on tv the other day....it reminded me of that scene in GaGas video (telephone) when she flashed her f*nny. Yes its been done years ago by Madonna, but i think years ago it was 'adult' and wouldnt have found its way onto as many media channels....These days its just the 'norm'....which is kinda messed up when you think about it.

 

[Zarina]

The worst attention whores are bloggers who post 5-6 similar photos of the same outfit or purchase.

 

[Kayote]

^^it is very troubling really. On a superficial level people can laugh it off..but its just a bit of a slippery slope in general social morals.

I was thinking when a music video came on tv the other day....it reminded me of that scene in GaGas video (telephone) when she flashed her f*nny. Yes its been done years ago by Madonna, but i think years ago it was 'adult' and wouldnt have found its way onto as many media channels....These days its just the 'norm'....which is kinda messed up when you think about it.

I've seen the video but never noticed.

Lindsay Lohan is another example of someone who totally lost it. I use to love her freckled & innocent look but boy did she turn that around minus the freckles.